Yesterday (12/26) was about as delightful as a day could be. We woke at around 4 am and the Expat Teachers drove us and the Silamander to Khao Yai National Park. There, Ms. Expat Teacher showed us the magic of the sensitive mimosa, a plant that folds up its leaves and moves its stem if you stroke it, and has a little firecracker of a flower. I had never seen anything like it before and kept stroking leaves – I finally made a video of it.

We did a short hike out to an observation tower overlooking a large pond and some bare orange patches of dirt in the otherwise lush environment, which she told us were elephant salt licks. We did not see elephants that day but could feel them all around us from their broad paths in the grass and their fresh and dried dung everywhere. The dung hardly smelled like anything, which surprised me.

Other animals that remained invisible to us made their presence known by sound. It was, in fact, the most beautiful soundscape, with gibbons calls dominating while different bird melodies came in and out of focus. There were frog and insect songs too. I was reminded of The Noise Musician, and wished he was here, being delighted, and carting a good recording setup so I could bring the sounds with me everywhere. We did see a lot of birds, including some magnificent hornbills. I loved them immediately for the same reason I love pelicans, their slow, massive but incredibly graceful manner of flying. And Silamander picked up a leech, the first non human one I’d ever seen. It was smaller than I expected.

We then got breakfast (sticky rice and egg custard in banana leaves! strong coffee!), and did a longer hike. On the way to the hike we stopped at a campground full of monkeys. I hope I don’t get sick of monkeys – I never even thought I liked them, but watching them groom each other,search for bugs in the grass, climb trees and swing their children in for a hug and a lift, I was tremendously charmed. We also saw a lot of deer, and a very very large black squirrel with a cream underbelly and a tail long enough to be a ladies scarf.

The hike (hike 2 for those who know the park) was a pretty walk along a stream to a layered waterfall. The Professor and the Expat Teachers had a long talk about education: reverse curriculum and other topics of that type. It was interesting to hear them, though it made me sad for all my juvenile criminal defense clients that they will never have the advantages my friends’ and husband’s students do.

We met another backpacker couple on the hike, from Monterey. They gave us some good tips about places they’d been, which made me wonder if we should bother with all the trouble Myanmar is likely to be. We’ll see.

Ms. Expat Teacher and I saw a beautiful green and turquoise butterfly as we were sitting together at the waterfall.

After the hike, we had a nice meal of salad, pasta and grilled vegetables at an Italian restaurant. The whole area around the park is developing itself with an Italian shtick, actually.

On the way back to town, Silamander saved us with his excellent Thai language skills from getting a ticket/ having to pay a bribe regarding a u turn that I believe was entirely legal. He was a hero with the language several times, in fact: saving us from huge entry fees at the park, booking us a taxi to Ayuthaya from a highway pit stop, etc. We were all very grateful and he said he enjoys the opportunity to practice his skills.

En route to Ayuthaya we parted ways with the Teachers Expat, but we hope to see them again soon. So grateful to them for a wonderful day, and so lucky to spend it with them!

– The Private Eye